Cinderella Adopted
by Elsadisney
Summary: Cinderella is adopted by the Tremaine family, but when her adoptive parents die and she has to live with a mean stepmother, will she be able to endure?
1. Chapter 1

This is a different take on the Cinderella story, about what would have happened if things were a little different. It is not intended to be about what really happened. Enjoy!

Once apon a time, there lived a happy family. There were two daughters born to the family, and it was a time of great joy. The girls were twins, and the family was very blessed. As the girls grew into toddlers, they were very adventurous and sweet. But things would change soon.

The twins, Anastasia and Drizella, were very close to one another. They rarely fought. As they grew older, they began to understand more things. One day, when they were six years old, Anastasia spotted a cardboard box with something in it.

"I wonder what that is?" the young girl asked her twin.

Drizella shrugged. "Let's go find out!"

The two girls walked over to the box and peered in. Their faces were identical, and they both had small brown eyes. Drizella's hair was dark brown, while Anastasia's had a reddish hue to it.

"There's a blanket," observed Drizella.

Anastasia nodded. "There's got to be something _under_ the blanket," she said.

"Let's see what it is, Ana!" Drizella exclaimed.

Anastasia carefully pulled up the blanket. She gasped when she saw what was under it. There was a tiny face with big blue eyes looking up at them. It was a baby!

The baby had wispy blonde hair on the top of its head. Drizella, who adored babies, stroked the baby's hair.

"Can we keep it?" Drizella asked wistfully.

Anastasia looked around. "I don't see a mother," she noticed. "We should go ask Daddy."

"But what if someone else takes it while we ask him?" Drizella worried.

Anastasia had an idea. "Drizzy, you stay here while I ask Daddy," she told her sister.

Drizella sat by the baby while Anastasia ran up to the house. She stroked the soft hair. The baby looked up at her and made a soft cooing noise, and Drizella knew she had to keep this adorable baby.

Anastasia came back with their father. "Please, Daddy, say we can keep the baby," she was pleading.

The twins' father looked into the box. The baby's face was so adorable that he knew he could never say no.

"We'll have to ask your mother," decided their father.

Annette Tremaine was a kind woman who loved her twin daughters. Her hair was auburn like Anastasia's, but it was curled into corkscrews. She had blue eyes that twinkled like sapphires in her face.

When the twins' mother came to see the baby that her husband had told her about, she could not bear to leave it in the cardboard box while she walked away. She agreed to let the baby be added to her family.

"Thank you, Mommy, oh, thank you, thank you!" squealed the twins. They were overflowing with happiness at the prospect of having a new baby sibling.

The next day, Annette and Robert Tremaine went to the courthouse to adopt the baby. It was a girl, they had found out. They signed all of the paperwork needed, and they officially adopted Cinderella J. Tremaine.

Anastasia and Drizella took wonderful care of their baby sister, Cinderella. She grew older, and soon she was toddling around the house. In that moment, everything was perfect.


	2. Chapter 2

2 Years Later

Ten-year-old Drizella and her twin sister, Anastasia, ran through the house while their four-year-old adopted sister, Cinderella, chased them.

"I catch you!" Cinderella cried. "I gonna catch you!"

The house was filled with laughter as the twins raced through the house, trying not to let their little sister catch them. Finally, Drizella slowed as she rounded a corner, and she felt Cinderella's little hand touch her back.

"I got you!" Cinderella cried triumphantly.

"You got me," Drizella laughed.

The game of tag went on until it was lunchtime. Then the family ate together.

The next day was a very different mood. The girls' mother was not feeling well, and they all were extra quiet to let her rest. But her health deteriorated, and within a year she was dying.

Anastasia, Drizella, and Cinderella were by their mother's bedside.

"Drizella," said their mother, "you must take care of your sisters, and Anastasia, take care of Cinderella."

Then she turned to Cinderella. "Whatever happens, I promise you I will always be in your heart."

The sisters were very sad. They gave their mother one last hug before she died.

Drizella was crying as she remembered her mother. Anastasia was with her, also crying. The twelve-year-old twins were grieving for their mother. Five-year-old Cinderella had taken it the hardest. She always thought she would see her mother when she rounded the corner, but her mother was not there.

Robert, too, had taken his wife's death hard. He always thought of her before he went to bed, and he missed her deeply. He worried for his daughters who had no mother to care for them. One day, he got it into his head that his children needed a mother, and he looked into remarrying.

Soon, he had found a woman who was willing to marry. Her name was Trudy Tappet, and she seemed kind. She had green eyes and graying hair that was always piled up on her head. The children did not like her much, as she would always pinch their cheeks harder than necessary when their father was not looking. They never told this to their father though, as he seemed to be happy.

Robert and Trudy were married the next year. Drizella and Anastasia had just turned thirteen, and Cinderella was six. The children's father was happy, but they were not. Gone were the days when Cinderella would play tag with her older sisters. The girls were not allowed much playtime. Instead Trudy ruled them with a firm hand.

One day, when Robert and Trudy were gone from the house, Drizella, Anastasia, and Cinderella were able to play. But the wonderful day was soon over, and soon their stepmother returned home.

"Where is Father?" asked Anastasia.

Trudy's face was grim. "He was killed," she said without emotion. She would not tell them how he had been killed.

The sisters grieved deeply. But when their time of grief was over, their stepmother changed things. She took Drizella in her room and spoke to her privately. Anastasia and Cinderella waited outside the door, hoping to catch what their sister would be told.

"Drizella," said her stepmother, "you will be expected to carry your weight now. You must do the dishes and laundry every day."

"But that's too much for me!" protested Drizella.

"I don't care," said her stepmother coldly. "You are a mouth to feed so you must do these chores."

Drizella walked out of the room dejectedly. Then their stepmother called Anastasia in.

"Anastasia," her stepmother said, "You will do the mending of clothes."

Anastasia accepted it without question, and she went out of the room. Their stepmother called Cinderella in.

"Cinderella," said her stepmother, "you are expected to do all of the chores except for the washing, mending, and dishes."

Panic filled Cinderella's eyes. "I can't do that! I'm only six!"

"You are not even a blood relative to your so-called sisters. You were adopted, and you do not count as a member of this family. From now on, you will be a servant to your sisters and me. If you do not obey, I will send you to the streets where you belong," said her stepmother coldly.

Cinderella's eyes filled with tears and she ran out of the room.

"What's wrong?" asked Drizella.

Cinderella tearfully explained how their stepmother had forced her to do almost all of the chores, and that she had said that Cinderella was not a member of the family.

"Oh, that's horrible!" cried Drizella. "Stepmother is so mean."

But with an iron hand, their stepmother forced the girls to do what she had told them. After a while, she had Cinderella do Drizella and Anastasia's chores as well. The years passed with no happiness, especially for Cinderella.

Soon, Drizella and Anastasia were eighteen, and Cinderella was eleven. Their stepmother forced Cinderella to do everything, and she never let Anastasia and Drizella lift a finger to help. The happy family that had been so long ago was destroyed. Cinderella knew she would never be able to endure had she not cherished her mother's last words to her: _Whatever happens, I promise I will always be in your heart._


End file.
